Etihad Airways appoints new general manager for Armenia

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has appointed Robert “Dougie” Douglas as its General Manager for Armenia.

Mr Douglas, who takes up the role
immediately, will lead the airline’s Armenian sales and marketing operations
from its new Yerevan office.

The appointment comes as Etihad
Airways prepares to launch four flights per week between Abu Dhabi and Yerevan
on 2 July 2014.

Mr Douglas’ aviation career spans
more than 30 years and prior to joining Etihad Airways in 2005, he worked in
more than 10 countries with British Airways and partner airlines.

He moves to Yerevan from Jakarta,
where he was Etihad Airways’ General Manager for Indonesia between 2007 and
2014. Previously, Mr Douglas was the
airline’s Area Manager for Northern India and Nepal, based in New Delhi.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad
Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “As we continue to build our presence
in key markets around the world, showcasing Abu Dhabi as a fantastic business
and leisure destination and global connection point, Dougie Douglas is the
ideal choice to lead our new Armenian operations.

“Dougie is an expert airline
manager, knows Armenia and the region very well, and his knowledge and
experience from having previously worked and lived in Yerevan will be
invaluable to the success of Etihad Airways’ new services to Abu Dhabi.

“These services will contribute
to the development of tourism in Armenia, strengthen the already strong trade
and tourism ties with the UAE, and provide great opportunities to connect over
Abu Dhabi to the entire Gulf region and key North and South American
destinations – home to a vast Armenian diaspora.”

Etihad Airways’ Abu Dhabi-Yerevan flights will
be operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft configured with 16 Business
Class and 120 Economy Class seats. A
total of 1,088 seats per week will be offered.